Mansur Alam, Pabna Correspondent: Employees of the Pabna Collectorate staged a work stoppage and protest demanding the rapid implementation of the Ninth National Pay Scale, under the initiative of the Pabna district unit of the “Bangladesh Government Employees’ Demand Realization Unity Council.”
As part of a nationwide three-day work stoppage program, a sit-in, discussion session, and demonstration were held in front of the Pabna Deputy Commissioner’s office on Sunday (February 1) from 9:00 am to 11:00 am. Sources said the same programs will continue at the same time on February 2 and 3 if their demands are not met. The organization has long been pressing for the implementation of the 9th Pay Scale, and Sunday’s protest was a continuation of that movement.
The first day’s program was presided over by Md. Wazed Ali, Administrative Officer of the Pabna District Administration Office, while organizational secretary Md. Abdus Sabur conducted and moderated the event.
The welcome speech was delivered by Md. Insaf Ali, Secretary of the Bangladesh Government Employees’ Demand Realization Unity Council, Pabna unit. Among the speakers were Md. Saidul Islam, ABM Shafiqul Islam, Ataur Rahman, Shahidul Islam, Mehedi Hasan, Shafiqul Islam, Abdul Majid, Lutfar Rahman, Rafiqul Islam, Imdadul Haque Milon, Sirajul Islam Nasim, and others.
The speakers said that although the interim government was formed as a result of the anti-discrimination movement, it is now practicing even greater discrimination against government employees. They expressed disappointment, saying they had hoped for justice after 11 years but felt betrayed by the finance adviser.
They demanded that the major disparities between Grades 20–11 and Grades 10–1 under the Eighth Pay Scale of 2015 be addressed and that a fair structure be introduced through the immediate implementation of the Ninth Pay Scale. Otherwise, they warned, tougher and larger protest programs would be announced.
Toward the end of the program, demonstrators marched several times around the traffic circle in front of the Deputy Commissioner’s office, formally concluding the first day’s activities.
